Where My STEM Girls At?

Saturday I was fortunate enough to present a few talks to 7th – 12th grade girls about STEM careers for the 3rd Annual Super Saturday STEM Summit. The Summit was started by Miss Leeds Area, Briana Kinsey, as part of her platform on her journey to the Miss Alabama stage. She’s an amazing, extremely intelligent young lady attending the University of Alabama at Birmingham and changing lives along the way through diabetes education, as well as getting young girls interested in STEM classes. If you don’t know STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics and women are woefully underrepresented in careers in this field.

This was my second year presenting and each year it’s more fun. This year I talked to the girls about coding and how so many things are run by codes and programs, including the Internet of Things, the latest trend. It was so rewarding to hear the girls talk about growing up to be dentists, chemical engineers, mathematicians, and more. I went over how important STEM classes and careers are for them and talked about everyone from Mae Jemison to Amandla Sternberg (Rue from The Hunger Games). I’m thankful to Briana and writers like Clair McLafferty who are trying to increase STEM awareness for girls and women alike.

The same thing I told the girls on Saturday goes for anyone who’s passionate about a career in STEM: you can do anything you set your mind to, you do belong at the table, and – like Sheryl Sandberg says – “lean in” because you’re just as smart as the guys at the table, if not smarter. You wouldn’t be there if you weren’t.